Staff Member: Rev. William Gore

Rev.WilliamGore

Fr. Bill Gore was born in Philadelphia and attended St. Hugh Roman Catholic Church and St. Michael Byzantine Catholic Church. He attended North East Catholic High School in Philadelphia. After completing high school, he entered the Novitiate of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales in 1959.

While a seminarian in the Oblates, he attended Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, for undergraduate studies in Philosophy/Biology. After completing his studies, he completed a Master of Theology degree at DeSales School of Theology and a Master of Arts in Adolescence Psychology from Villanova University.

On September 6, 1969, Father Gore was ordained a priest for the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales in the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia. After being ordained a priest, Fr. Gore began his long career of teaching in secondary education in Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, Virginia and Salesianum School in Wilmington, Delaware from 1969 to 1988. During this time he functioned as science teacher, guidance director, religion teacher, psychology teacher, and school chaplain for seven years. While teaching he did ministry at various parishes on weekends in both Roman Catholic and Byzantine (Ukranian) parishes having facilities for both Rites.

In 1988, Father Bill was assigned Religious Superior of the Oblate College community in Center Valley, Pennsylvania. During this time he also assumed the Administration of Sts. Peter and Paul Byzantine Catholic Parish in Bethlehem, PA.

In 1992, Father took a sabbatical to go to Ukraine to work with the establishment of a seminary of Eastern (Ukrainian Catholic) Church in the city of Lviv, Ukraine after the fall of communism. At the end of 1993, he completed his sabbatical and returned to Wilmington. Upon return, he was appointed pastor of St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church in Wilmington and St. Basil the Great Ukrainian Catholic Church in Chesapeake City, Maryland. While being pastor of these two parishes, he was also appointed Religious Superior of an Oblate community in Wilmington. Having completed his term as Religious Superior in 1999, he requested permission from his religious superiors to return to Ukraine to teach in the seminaries of the Eastern Catholic Churches in the cities of Lviv and Drohobych. All during this time, he returned to the United States every summer to preach around the country to raise money for Oblate Missions and his work in the Ukraine. He remained there teaching until 2009 when he returned home to become Religious Superior again of an Oblate community in Wilmington. During this time, he spent most of his weekends preaching around the country for the Oblate Missions and support of seminarians in Ukraine. He also returned to Ukraine every year to assist with aid for seminarians, young married priests, and their families.

In 2014, at the suggestion of Bishop Malooly, he requested permission from his religious superiors to assist at some of the beach parishes here in Coastal Delaware.